


I swear it was an accident - a writing prompt

by chaosfay



Series: Delylah and Cullen [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, F/M, Humiliation, Humor, Public Humiliation, Situational Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 09:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3524135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosfay/pseuds/chaosfay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orlesians have a habit of taking up Delylah's time, causing Cullen to do away with any surprise plans he has for them.  The frustration is a little too much for him this time, and he decides training the recruits how to deflect mage attacks is a good idea.  Too bad he wasn't paying attention to the comings and goings of those around him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I swear it was an accident - a writing prompt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reellifejaneway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reellifejaneway/gifts).



As usual, Delylah was trapped in a conversation with visiting Orlesian nobles.  They didn’t bother her terribly much.  With a few lessons from Josephine, Leliana, and Vivienne, she had The Game well in hand.  It took a great deal of effort not to say what was on her mind, but she found it was much more amusing to remain silent and let others do all the talking.  More often than not, she came out on top with little more than a few words after listening and watching.    


Cullen had seen the Orlesian nobles arrive, and knew his plans for a private lunch with Delylah were no longer part of the picture.  She’d be stuck with them for hours.  He never understood how she was able to handle them so easily, but according to Vivienne and Leliana, Delylah was fast becoming a professional player of The Game.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.  She was by far one of the most honest people you could ever hope to meet, and quite possibly the most forward.  At the same time, she was an excellent listener and her skills in observation were matched by few.    


His hopes of lunch with her now gone, he took to training the new recruits.  More arrived every day, boosting their numbers, but some of them were green.  Too green and still wet behind the ears.  More often than not, they didn’t even know how to hold a sword or shield.  He was thankful for those who knew how to use a bow.  Many farming families had archers in the family, serving as the hunters for fresh game or keeping the family safe.  He had tried his hand at archery many times over the years, knowing having skill with the bow as well as the sword would serve his soldiers later.  Cullen failed every attempt.  Half the time he ended up with the worst bruises one could imagine on his forearm.  The other half he ended up with the arrow flying far from its intended target.  No, he’d stick with the sword and shield.  Let others with skill wield the bow.    


With his schedule clear and nothing to do, Cullen set to joining in with the training today.  Most days he left it to his sergeants, but with his frustration about not seeing Delylah today, he needed to work it out of his system.  He recognized some of the very few Templars among them; they had sided with the mages and thankfully so.  A Tevinter mage had taken up temporary residence in Redcliff with the intent of taking the rebel mages as his own personal army.  Delylah didn’t divulge very many details, just enough to let everyone know the mages were their allies.  He was thankful for the Templars that had joined their cause; it kept some of the mages in check and made everyone feel a little more at ease.  Everyone except the mages, of course.  Delylah saw the wisdom in it, and convinced their new allies it was for the best.

“I didn’t think we’d be seeing you, Commander.  Did you want to make a change in the training today?”  One of the Templars training the recruits approached and saluted him.    


“No, but I do think you’re going too soft on them.  We may be fighting red Templars, but the Venatori have quite a few mages.  Our troops need to know how to deflect those attacks.”  Spotting a mage walking nearby, Cullen approached him.  “Would you be willing to join me in a sparring match?  I need to teach the recruits how to deflect Venatori mage attacks.”  Cullen was careful about pointing out the Venatori instead of just mages.  There was enough tension between the mages and Templars as it was; he didn’t need to stoke those flames.

“I would be happy to aid you.  Am I permitted a staff or will it be strictly magic?”  The older man seemed at ease with this; perhaps he was one of the mages who worked well with the Templars while the Circles still existed?

“They’re new.  I believe magic alone will be enough.  We don’t need to scare them too much.”  Cullen chuckled as they walked toward the sparring ring.

“We, sir?”  The man raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit as he asked.

“Seeing as I’m the senior officer here, I feel I ought to be your first target.”  Cullen chose a practice shield but no sword.  Turning to the troops surrounding the sparring ring--“A sword is good and fine, but it doesn’t deflect magic attacks.  That’s what your shield is for.  It not only protects you from blades and arrows, but magic as well.  If you don’t know how to use it, you soon won’t need it.”  He turned from them abruptly, letting his words sink in. Turning to the mage, “Keep the spells simple, if you please.”

Nodding, “Of course.  I’ll start with ice.”

They spent nearly half an hour going over how to deflect the spells, how to use the shield properly, and even how to turn a magic attack on their enemies.  If the shield wasn’t turned down just so, the spell--ice in this case--would cause the defender serious damage to the face.  One of the Templars stepped in, wearing a helmet, to show how wrong it could go.  His helm was quickly frozen, the cold traveling down his body.  The mage released him with another spell, and Cullen handed the very cold Templar a healing potion for the frostbite.    


“Now we’ll move on to fire attacks and how to redirect them.  Fire is the easiest to redirect, but your shield will get hot regardless.”  A few minutes later they heard a very loud scream.    


“That was a new dress!”  Cullen immediately knew he was in trouble.  Yes, he had successfully deflected and redirected the fireball, but had failed to aim for a target.  Setting his shield down, he looked in the direction of the scream.  Delylah stood there, the dress she was wearing nearly completely burned off, the worst of it stopped by her ice magic.  There was little more than enough to provide her with modesty.  Quickly dropping the shield, Cullen removed his cloak and wrapped it around Delylah, moving the fur mantle in such a way as to cover the more exposed upper half of her body.

“I am so sorry.  It was purely an accident; I had no intention of having that spell hit you.”  His words were racing out as he shielded Delylah as best he could with his larger frame.  “Let’s get you to your chambers before too many see you like this.  Oh, Maker, I am so sorry.  I didn’t realize you were even there.”

Accepting his assistance she made her way, with Cullen at her side, across the yard to the stairs leading up to the main hall.  “You’re lucky the nobles had just left.  If they had seen that display--”  Her bronze skin darkened with her frustration and anger.  “The last thing I need is a rumor of our Commander being an incompetent leader.”  They made their way up the stairs and into the hall quickly.  Pieces of her dress fluttered off behind her, the ice holding it together starting to melt.    


“I swear, it was an accident.  I had no intention of hitting you.”  He kept an arm around her shoulders, holding things together as best he could.  “I’ll buy you a new dress to replace this one, and take measures to prevent this from ever happening again.”

They stood at the door to her quarters.  Turning to look at him, “Don’t concern yourself with buying a new dress for me.  I receive new dresses as gifts on a regular basis.  This one was new, and also happened to be one I rather liked.  No, just see to it this doesn’t happen. Ever. Again.”  She opened the door, slipping Cullen’s cloak and mantle, and her dress was now little more than wet, burned rags.  “Either look for another location to teach those techniques, or set up wards.  A change of location would likely work best.”    


“Of course;  I’ll see to it immediately.”  He could feel his face getting hot as he looked at Delylah.  She was barely covered, and it took great effort to keep his eyes on her face.

“See that you do.”  She closed the door behind her, leaving Cullen standing there with a now-damp cloak.    


Pulling it on, he could smell her.  Rose oil, frankincense, and something else he couldn’t readily identify.  He sighed, the image of her half-dressed in his mind.  As much as he enjoyed seeing her in such a state, he knew he didn’t want to be in this situation again.  Stepping outside, he quickly made his way across the yard.  The mage met him at the bottom of the stairs.  “We’ll need to find a new location for this training.  I don’t care for seeing her humiliated again.”

“Of course, Commander.  I’ll speak to the Templars about this, and perhaps some of the scouts can find a secure place for us,”  the mage chimed in as they arrived at the training ring.

“See that it’s done.”  Seeing the recruits looking at him, some amused, others terrified:  “You will not speak of this.  No one is to know what happened to the Inquisitor.  Just remember that when you don’t pay attention, you may cause a serious case of friendly fire that won’t be so kind as the Inquisitor’s wrath.”  


End file.
